Game journals for board games I engage in, mostly PBEM.
Some journals are updated while the game is ongoing, some afterwards.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Fields of Fire: Normandy Campaign - Mission 1 - Turn 2

HQ Higher Event

No HQ symbol is found on the Action Card, so no Event occurs.

Friendly Command Phase

Activation Segment

I want to be a little cautious this turn and not try to push too much forward, because I know I am going to need at least two General Initiative Commands to seek cover for any Squad I advance and to retreat the US 2/1 Plt out of the killing zone it is in.

My next goals are to take the Attack Position (R2C2) and get a squad into the Cemetery (hopefully a Strong Building cover).

But I don't think I can accomplish all that this turn, so I am going to focus on the cemetery right now. Neither the HMG or the German 1/1 Plt have LOS to the Cemetery, so whatever I encounter there can be dealt with in isolation.

1st SGT: 1 Activation, used to move HMG to Village (R1C2) and into the Upper Story cover marker. It is marked as Exposed.

General Initiative: 3/2. That is just enough to do what I need this turn.

General Initiative Orders:

1/1st Plt Seeks Cover in the Cemetery. He draws 3 cards, one of which provides cover. A subsequent draw of "3" means that he has found a Strong Building in which to hide. Just what I was looking for!

1/2nd Plt Moves to the Orchard/Grove (R1C3). This is allowed (despite being Pinned) since that card is Occupied and not under a VOF. 1/2nd is marked as Exposed. The VOF generated by 1/2nd is removed from R2C5, which reduces the Activity Level to Contact.

Offensive Mission: Higher HQ Event

No HQ Event card is drawn, so no effect.

Offensive Mission: Enemy Activity Phase

German 1/1 Plt: As near as I can tell, I still use the "Pinned under cover" Activity Chart, since the Pinned marker gets removed at the beginning of the Combat Effects Segment because there is no VOF on the card (errata for 3.7.1). I get a Fall Back result, in which case the unit retreats to the Woods with the HMG (R3C4), and gains an Exposed marker. I also assume the unit moves under the existing Cover marker on the card, so I place it in the Trench. The PDF and Crossfire marker on R1C4 are removed.

German HMG: Has no VOF and no LOS to a US unit, so it gets removed and a PC Marker placed. But since there is already a PC marker in place on this card, I do not place an additional one. The VOF and PDF markers from this unit are removed and Activity Level falls to No Contact once again.

When I started the turn I didn't actually realize that moving 1/2nd Plt out of the LOS of the HMG would have the effect of removing it from the map. This is something to remember when facing heavy units.

On the downside, the US 1/1st is now guaranteed some sort of contact, because the activity level is No Contact and the Potential Contact Marker is "A".

Mutual Capture & Retreat Phase

No one meets the criteria, so this is skipped.

Mutual Vehicle-Aircraft Phase

The Jeep was not activated, so this is skipped.

Mutual Combat Phase

There are no Fire Missions to Update, so we skip that step.

Evaluate Potential Contact Markers

Only one contact marker to evaluate this turn.

Cemetery (R2C2) Contact:

Potential Contact A (Automatic at "No Contact") - No cards are drawn.

Next I determine what I have found by drawing randomly from 10, and I get a 4 which under Potential Contact A is Defensive Position.

That turns out to be Squad / Squad, according to the Force Package Table.

Squad 1, drawn randomly, is the 1/2nd Plt (A/L). Unit Placement draw is 7, which is Left Front at Max LOS, so this squad goes into the Orchard (R3C1) underneath a Trench (default cover). VOF A and a PDF are placed, pointing at the cemetery. The unit is not spotted. Activity moves to Contact.

Squad 2, drawn randomly, is the 1/3rd Plt (S/L). Unit Placement draw is 10, which is Right Front at Max LOS. The Open Fields at R3C3 allow LOS to continue past that card, so a new Terrain Card (Woods) is drawn and placed at R4C4. The German 1/3rd goes into those Woods underneath a Trench (default cover). PDF are placed, pointing at the cemetery, and adding a Crossfire VOF to the Cemetery. Firing through the Open Fields removes the PC Marker from that card. The unit is not spotted.

Both units are added to the Mission Log.

It's important for me to note and remember that the Orchard at R1C3 now has LOS to R3C1 (through the Cemetery), so those units may find themselves under fire next turn.

Combat Effects Segment

The first thing that happens is the Pinned markers come off the German 1/1st and the US 1/2nd, since both find themselves on cards without any VOF.

Only one card has a VOF (the Cemetery):

US 1/1st Plt in Cemetery (R2C1) - "A" VOF is -1; -2 for Exposed; -1 for Crossfire; +1 for Card; +3 for Cover. Final Modifier is 0. Result is HIT and the result for Line is F, so 1/1st Plt is Pinned, flipped to its reverse side, and a Fire Team added to the card.

I reduce German 1/2nd Plt Ammo by 1.

Clean Up Phase

All of the Exposed Markers are removed.

Stiff resistance so far, but not a lot of casualties. We'll see if 1/1st can hang on in the Cemetery, using the strong cover for protection, while I try to maneuver units into position to take some of the pressure off.